1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compressor housings and, more specifically, to hermetically sealed compressor housings having two or more walls and a method of manufacturing such compressor housings.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of hermetically sealed housings for compressors is well known in the art and may be used with a variety of different types of compressor mechanisms including scroll compressors, reciprocating compressors and rotary compressors. The fluid filling the interior volume of such hermetically sealed housings, such as a refrigerant vapor, may be at the suction pressure at which fluids enter the compressor housing or at the discharge pressure at which fluids are discharged from the compressor mechanism. The housing may also be partitioned into multiple separate chambers that contain fluids at different pressures. For example, the housing may have one such chamber that contains fluids at the suction pressure and another such chamber contains fluids at the discharge pressure.
Such hermetically sealed housings typically consist of a single sheet of material, such as a low carbon steel material, which is formed into a desired shape by a stamping or hydroforming process. In conventional compressor assemblies, such as those used in refrigeration systems, the refrigerant compressed within the housing may have a discharge pressure in the range of 250 to 300 psi (pounds per square inch). Some refrigerants, however, require higher pressures. For example, refrigerant systems utilizing CO2 as the refrigerant may have discharge pressures which reach 2200 psi. The hermetically sealed housings used with refrigerants that require a higher operating pressure must, of course, be able to withstand the higher pressures associated therewith.
One method of providing a housing that may withstand relatively high pressures is to increase the thickness of the housing walls. This method, however, can become relatively expensive because the required thickness of the walls may exceed the thickness of commonly available draw quality steel thereby requiring the special ordering, and the enhanced expenses associated therewith, of an appropriate thickness of draw quality steel.
A cost effective method of producing an hermetically sealed housing capable of withstanding relatively high pressures is desirable.